Girls Who Start Menstruating Early Are More Likely To Suffer From Depression

I got my first period when I was 12 about to turn 13. I, of course, felt like I was the last one. My friends Annie and Sarah both got their periods before me and, I swear, it bonded them in a way that made me insanely jealous. I wanted blood to flow out of my vagina too! I wanted Kirk Cameron to respond to my fan mail and I wanted to be a woman, dammit. When it finally happened, it didn’t take long for me to realize that having your period is basically a complete bummer. And it’s especially a bummer for girls who get their first visit from Aunt Flow at a younger age. According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, a survey of 2,000 girls found that those who got their first visit from Aunt Flo before the age of 13-and-a-half were more likely to suffer from depression than girls who got their periods later. This is likely because menstruation comes as part of the package deal known as PUBERTY and puberty sucks. And if you’re going through puberty before other kids your age, well, that’s even crappier. “Early maturing girls may feel isolated, and faced with demands which they are not emotionally prepared for,” said Bristol University research Dr. Carol Joinson. There isn’t a conclusive link, however, between girls who got their periods early and depression in adulthood, but I’m pretty sure I can blame my mental issues on my hippie mom making me wear pads instead of tampons. [Daily Mail UK]